


First Kiss

by teaandcharcoal



Series: johndave week 2017 [4]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Sburb Session, Alternate Universe - No Sburb/Sgrub Sessions, Established Relationship, Fluff, For clarification john and dave are dating and dave just turned 18, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Underage, M/M, and there's references to the two of them wanting to frick, the hurt is past and referenced tho this is really about the comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-09
Updated: 2017-07-09
Packaged: 2018-11-29 16:19:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11444517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teaandcharcoal/pseuds/teaandcharcoal
Summary: For years, John has wanted to help Dave out of his shitty living situation and for years Dave has wanted nothing more than to get out. After he turns eighteen, Dave gets on the first flight he can to Washington, where he finally gets to meet his boyfriend face to face for the first time. And he's even cuter in person.Written for day 6 of johndaveweek 2017 - different headcanons





	First Kiss

**Author's Note:**

> so my thought process for this was that i wanted a situation in which Dave and John would really explore each other's bodies, and I figured what better way to do that than a meeting for the first time scenario? (plus I actually lived through meeting a long distance SO for the first time and it's fucking amazing let me tell you)
> 
> Since this prompt is kind of based on John and Dave being different from what I usually write, here's what I changed for comparison  
> John: tall, stocky, Indian, messy hair -> short, extra chubby, Filipino, hair just kinda curly  
> Dave: short, chubby, white, trans -> tall, skinny, black, cis (also, worth noting since I don't describe it in detail: i love those pictures where he has the blond puff on the top of his head and the sides with a shaved/undercut sort of business)

By the time he got off the plane, Dave felt with absolute certainty that there was no liminal space in the world more unsettling than an airport. You might be more likely to find the devil in the parking lot of a closed Waffle House, but there's just something about _airports._ The air is stale and tastes like bacteria that are better travelled than you will ever be. You go through a scanner that is basically capable of rendering a 3d image of you naked. Everyone is there waiting, and you’re all desperately staring at a screen of names and times hoping that soon, any day now, your flight will be at the gate so you can wait to board, so you can wait for the plane to take off, so you can wait for it to land, so you can wait for the doors to open, so you can wait for the rich dickwads to get their asses off so that you as a member of the common masses are allowed the privilege of letting your feet touch solid ground, so that you can go and wait for your flight to be assigned a carousel, so you can wait to pick up your bag. The whole experience has the feeling of some bureaucratic purgatory where you drag around physical manifestations of your own greed and desire for earthly materials in the form of carry-ons until some unseen force decides you've suffered enough and allows you peace.

Also, those fuckers charged him $10.50 for a bottle of water and some Doritos.

The airport is a sick place.

Dave just tried to remind himself of where he was going and, maybe more importantly, what he was leaving behind. Yesterday was his last night in Texas, certainly for now, and possible ever. Any minute now, his boyfriend would be there and then-

"Daaaaave!"

He turned towards the source of the sound to see a young man running towards him. He was at least a foot shorter than Dave and a bit chubby. He wore an unbuttoned blue flannel over a plain white t-shirt. Dave was a little uncertain until he saw messy black hair peeking out from his knit hat. Then he recognized those monolid eyes set and the broad, flat nose set into the man’s soft, round face. Tension drained from his body and Dave allowed himself to smile and wave at his best friend, boyfriend, love of his life, John Egbert.

John stopped just a few feet shy of him and looked uncertain. He put his hands down at his side and smiled sheepishly. "Um, hi." One hand flashed up in a tiny wave. "You are Dave, right? If not this is kind of awkward."   

"Of course it's me, you dork.” Dave took it upon himself to close the gap, leaning down to hug him. And, oh wow, it felt really good. Warm, safe. He wasn't about to have the coming freak out in public, so instead he straightened back up, lifting John straight off the ground.

"Hey! Dave!" But he was laughing.

Dave set him back down gently and backed away. He wasn't actually sure where to go from here? Should they hug again? Hold hands? Couples usually kiss at airports, but Dave had never kissed _anyone._ And now that he was face to face with this person who he loved more than anything, the guy who had been there for him for the better part of a decade, he couldn't think of a damn thing to say. Luckily, John could.

"It's good to actually see you," He said. "Yanno, you're even taller than I thought you'd be."

"I told you I was six-five."

"Like I have any frame of reference, dude."

Dave shrugged. "If it makes you feel any better, your voice is a lot lower in real life."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I donno if it's your mic or Skype, but you almost sound like a different person."

"Huh." John turned to the carousel, which was just starting to spit out suitcases. "So what's your bag look like?"

"It’s got pink flowers on it.”

“Because irony or because that was all there was at Goodwill?”

“Yes.”

John laughed. Dave had always liked his laugh, but actually hearing it in real life made his heart melt. Without thinking he lifted an arm and wrapped it around John’s shoulders. John leaned into the touch.

“It’s good to see you,” He said again, softer and sweeter this time.

“I certainly hope that this is Dave, son, or else I’m sure when he actually arrives he will have questions.”

Dave startled and turned around. Mr. Egbert was taller than his son, but still slightly below average, so Dave had to look down to meet his gaze. He smiled warmly and held an opaque round Tupperware.

“Yep!” John said. “This is Dave! Dave, Dad. Dad, Dave.”

“It’s nice to meet you Mr. Egbert,” Dave said like a respectable human and everything. He even held out his hand.

Mr. Egbert took it and gave him the firmest handshake of his eighteen-year-old life. “Good to meet you too. And you can just call me Dad if you’d like, since you’ll be staying with us for a while.”

“Okay,” Dave said. He wondered how much this man knew about him, about his history, if John had ever mentioned that Dave never had a father – or anything like one, really – before. He wasn’t sure if he hoped Mr. Egbert knew or not.  

“Ooh! Dave! Is that it?” John asked.

His little beat up suitcase was about to come by them on the conveyor belt. “Oh yeah.”

He was about to reach up and take it, but John was closer. He picked it up with a grunt. “Dude, what is even in this? Rocks?”

“Actually, it’s a sword and some of my favorite specimens. I can show you back at your place.”

“Wow, you sure have some priorities, dude.”

Dave rolled his eyes, not that John would know behind the shades. “It’s not like I had that much shit to start with.”

“Oh, right. Um, we should get you to the car, huh?”

He and his dad started walking towards the sign for the parking garage and Dave followed. John kept glancing back and smiling at him, awkward but excited. Eventually he fell back a little bit so he could be in step with Dave. John reached out nervously towards Dave. After a moment’s hesitation, Dave reached out and took it. John’s smile was absolutely, one-hundred-percent worth it.

Dad Egbert’s car was exactly like Dave had pictured it: a spotless, white compact without a defining feature aside from his “My Child is an Honor Student at Skyview High School” bumper sticker. John put Dave’s suitcase in the trunk and then slid into the back seat.

“Figured I’d give you the choice,” he said. “You can go shotgun or sit in back with me. It’s up to you.”

Dave slid in beside him without comment. John didn’t say anything either, but he smiled excitedly.

“Here,” Dad Egbert handed Dave the Tupperware and then got into the front seat.

“What is it?” Dave asked.

“Cupcakes!” John said excitedly. “We wanted to make you something you could eat in the car!”

Dave took the lid off of the box. It held a dozen cupcakes with chocolate frosting. Red letters reading “welcome dave!” had been written across them.

“Sorry if they’re a little messy. I’m not as good at decorating as Dad is, but I wanted to put that on myself.”

“I hope you know I echo the sentiment as well,” Dad Egbert said. “But we both thought you’d appreciate it more from your boyfriend than his father. Now seatbelts, please, boys.”

They buckled themselves in, and then Dave picked up one of the cupcakes. He handed it to John and then grabbed one for himself.

“This is so exciting!” John said, “I get to meet you face to face, and now Dad’s letting me eat in the car for once!”

“Well, it is a special occasion,” Dadbert said.

Dave unwrapped the side of the cupcake and bit down. He hadn’t really understood the concept of food being rich before, but as soon as he tasted it he knew exactly what it meant. The texture itself was light and soft, in spite of the cherries inside, but there was something about the chocolate that made it feel almost heavy. And it wasn’t as sweet as the Little Debbie cakes he was used to, the taste much more subtle. There was just so much more to it than Dave had imagined could ever go into a freakin cupcake. He wanted to gobble it up and savor it all at once, but by the time it was gone he was finished. One was enough. Huh.  

He and John put their wrappers back in the Tupperware. As Dave stowed it safely by his feet John reached out towards him. He saw the motion out of the corner of his eye and snatched his wrist. John visibly startled.

“Sorry,” Dave said. “Reflexes.” He let go.

The two of them kept eye contact until John’s hand found its way to Dave’s knee. The warmth, the weight, the feel of being touched by another person was so strange, so incredible. Dave wanted nothing more than to wrap himself up in John. It probably should have felt sexual, and maybe it kind of was, but all Dave knew was that it was good and he wanted more.

But not with Dadbert in the car.

“No shenanigans, boys,” he said. Dave could see a bit of a knowing smile in the rearview window.

“It is totally pg back here,” John replied, pillowing his head in Dave’s shoulder. “It’d be g but we’re both guys and the MPAA gets weird about that.”

“Oh snap,” Dave said. “Hey, is pg for pretty gay as opposed to just regular g for regular gay?”

“Is pretty gay more or less gay than regular gay?”

“I think it’s less gay. Since, like, life is better if it’s goin’ ‘good’ as opposed to ‘pretty good.’”

“Makes sense.”

By that point they were leaving the carefully maintained airport and the area directly around it, headed towards the freeway. And, holy shit, _snow._ Dave had seen a little bit on the way in, but there were mountains of the stuff that he hadn’t been able to make out from the plane. Like there had to be five or six inches on most of the roofs.

John just laughed as Dave stared in disbelief.

“Shut up, John. You lied to me, made me think there was a Vancouver in Washington. I can’t believe you’re abducting me and taking me to Canada.”

“I know you’ve never left Texas, but come on!” He gets out between guffaws.

“I can’t live off of maple syrup and donuts, John!”

And then John completely lost it. He launched his entire 120 pounds of being at Dave so he could laugh even harder. He gripped Dave shirt tightly and, fuck, Dave thought all that nonsense about heart-swelling was fake purple prose but shit was getting real literal up in his chest cavity. Dave couldn’t do anything other than hold John and watch him shake with laughter, an unbelievably wide smile on his face. And in that moment there was nothing Dave could think about other than how much he loved this boy. He loved everything about him: his buck teeth, the soft shape of his eyes with their gentle curve, his adorable little double chin, his awkward nerd glasses, his soft round cheeks that had gotten slightly flushed from the laughter. And then John opened his eyes, bright blue and full of all the adoration in the world. Dave completely forgot how to breathe. He never wanted to kiss someone as badly as he did in that moment, but the angle made it impossible. If Dave had held onto any reservations about coming to Washington, they all vanished in that moment.

“I forgot to ask, how was your flight, Dave?” Dadbert said.

Dave straightened up immediately. It was probably just coincidence or wanting to fill the silence, but on the off chance he noticed how Dave was looking at his son and didn’t like it, Dave decided to make with the appeasement strategy.

“It was good. I think, anyway. I don’t have much to compare it to.”

“This was his first flight,” John clarified.

“Really?”

“Bro isn’t one for vacations,” Dave explained.

“I see... Well then, Dave, you’re going to have to think long and hard about where you’d like to go and we’ll see if we can arrange a trip this spring or summer. I had been hoping to take one more vacation with John before he started college, and I think having you along will make it even more special.”

He said it like it was so simple, so easy. Dave looked at John disbelievingly.

“I wouldn’t mind going somewhere a second time,” John said. “So don’t worry about trying to pick some place we haven’t been! Wherever you want! Well, as long as it’s not, like, Antarctica or China.”

“I don’t have a passport,” Dave pointed out.

“Well, there’s plenty to see in the states,” Dadbert said. “But, like I said, don’t rush it. We’ve got to get you settled in first, give you time to plan what you want to do.”

“Right.” Like he hadn’t been planning for this since last year. Like he hadn’t spent every night trying to drown out the fear and panic of making himself vulnerable with plans of what he would do once he got away from Bro. He’d even researched places he could get his GED and how close they were to John’s house. But he didn’t want to seem desperate in front of Dadbert.

Instead, he kept up the façade of small talk until Dadbert pulled into the driveway of a nice, respectable looking suburban house. The three of them went inside. John grabbed Dave’s bag before he could again, leaving Dave with nothing to carry but the cupcakes. Dadbert even took that from him after he unlocked the door.

“Alright,” Dadbert said. “John, why don’t you give Dave a tour? You must be getting hungry, so I’ll start on dinner.” He strolled through the living room and into the kitchen, leaving John and Dave alone.

“Come on!” John said excitedly. “I’ll show you around!” He put Dave’s suitcase down gently and then took him by the hand. “Since Dad’s gonna be monopolizing the kitchen for an hour let’s start upstairs.” He bounded upwards and Dave followed. “Okay, so that’s my room. You’ve seen it over Skype, but...”

He opened the door. And, yeah, it was basically the same as Dave had seen a million times before. It hadn’t changed much since Dave first saw it. John had just gotten a dozen more movie posters and replaced his garish chest with a small entertainment center that held a TV and a couple video games. Dave also noticed that, like he guessed but was afraid to ask, John’s bed was a double. Nice. Dave wouldn’t be sleeping in it himself, of course, but that might make it a little easier for them to have some fun while Dadbert was out of the house. John didn’t so much make note of it. He just left to go down the side hall.

“This is the bathroom,” He opened the door. “Boring, but important.”

“Shit, this is _huge,_ ” Dave says. “And you have a _bathtub!”_

“Yeah? Didn’t you?”

“No, we just had a shitty stand up shower Bro filled with his stupid puppets. Shit, is there a Lush near here? I know this meme is dead, but I want a million bath bombs. I need them, John.”

John thought for a moment. “You know, I don’t actually know. There’s gotta be one or something like it somewhere. We can google it later.”

“Bath bombs, John.”

“I know, Dave.” He was smiling again. “Dad keeps the extra soap and stuff under the sink. Towels are in the linen closet in the hallway.”

He stepped back out and waved to a door across the way. “Dad’s room is there. He usually keeps the door locked. Like, the first time I went in there was to have the heart to heart where I came out to him. And that was two years ago. There’s a balcony, but the view’s been shitty since they built those condos next door, so that’s really all that’s up here. So that means – dun, dun, dun! It’s time to see where you’ll be staying!” He bounded down the stairs and Dave followed. “It used to be my Dad’s study, but he rearranged a little to get most of his stuff in his room and the rest in the living room so you’d have somewhere to crash.”

“I didn’t realize – I thought you just had a guest room.”

John shrugged. “I mean, we got a futon at some point, and eventually people started sleeping on it. But since this is gonna be a little more long-term, Dad decided it would be better to move more of his stuff to give you some privacy.”

He opened the door. Inside was a plain desk, double bed, a smallish dresser, and a lamp. It was all very plain and orderly, matching everything else in the common areas of the house. But just then the reality of it all smacked him in the face. This was his room now.  He’d be staying here. He’d be living here. Not just surviving, but fucking _living._

“I know it’s not much, but you can decorate it however you want.” John said, like Dave’s silence was disapproval or something. “I, uh, thought you’d want to hang up some of your pictures or something.”

“Yeah. I’ll do that. And I think I can put my jars on the dresser.” His voice cracked and he coughed to try to cover it up.

“Dave? Are you okay?”

“Yeah. No. Maybe?”

John sat on the side of the bed. “I know you normally don’t wanna talk about it, but you wanna talk about it?”

“Actually, yeah.” Dave sat next to John and laced their fingers together. “I just, cliché or not, I almost can’t believe this is real.”

“It is. I promise. Want me to pinch you?”

“No. I’m saying more it still hasn’t sun in that it’s over, that I don’t have to go back to Texas, that I don’t-“ his voice completely cut out and tears rolled from the corners of his eyes.

“Oh, Dave...” John murmured. “Are you- Is it okay if I touch you?”

Dave didn’t trust his voice, so he just nodded. John reached out and gently pulled Dave’s shades off so he could brush the tears away with his thumbs. His hands were almost impossibly soft.

“Lie down with me?” He suggested

“Okay,” Dave croaked.

He kicked off his sneakers and stretched out on his side. John snuggled up against him, his soft frame pressed against Dave’s wiry one.

“I’m here,” he murmured, bumping his forehead gently against Dave’s. “It’s okay. I’m here.”

Dave threw his free arm around him, pulling him as close as possible. Their legs tangled and Dave took one of John’s thick thighs between his slim ones. Lying together like this the height difference was obvious. John was a soft, tiny little thing. He’d never been in a fight, much less had to strife every day for years, but Dave just felt so _safe_ with him, like John would be able to protect him from anything. Well, he’d given him a place to go, didn’t he?

“Thank you,” Dave said. “You’re- this is the best birthday present you’ve ever given me. And you’ve given me some _great_ birthday presents.”

John laughed. “I can tell from the fact you still wear those shades.”

“Shh.” He pulled back a little bit just so he could look at John better. His gaze was first drawn to John’s eyes, but then he couldn’t help but let it slip down to his lips. “Hey John?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I kiss you?”

John swallowed. “Yeah. That sounds... um...”

But Dave didn’t wait for him to finish. He surged forward and their lips met. Fuck, even his lips were soft. Dave felt a pang of hunger low in his belly. He wanted more. He ran his hands along the length of John's spine, making his boyfriend shudder. 

"Oh, Dave," he breathed. 

But before Dave had a chance to respond John pulled him into another kiss. It was still relatively chaste, done with a brief meeting of closed lips. 

"I love you," Dave whispered. 

"Love you too," John replied, reaching up to run his fingers through the poof blond curls on the top of Dave's head. "Your hair feels like a cloud," he said with a giggle.

"Then maybe you should give me something to play with, my man. Just to be fair."

"Well, I don't exactly have a shortage of soft," John replied teasingly. "Take your pick."

"Hmm..." Dave slid his palms down John's chest, pretending to be thoughtful, and continued downward dragging his fingers over the adorable curve of John’s belly. John sighed with approval and kept playing with Dave's hair. Then Dave went for his actual target, sliding his hands around to take two big fistfulls of ass, drawing a little squeak of surprise from his boyfriend. Dave began to massage him softly, gently, loving the way John's flesh felt in his grasp. The hunger came back even stronger than before and settled low in his belly. Because this was John. For real. No more mutual masturbating over skype, no more furtively jerking off when he was sure bro was asleep. He had John right here.

John seemed to be pretty into it too, if the glazed look in his eyes and dazed smile on his lips were anything to go by. 

Dave hummed appreciatively and took John’s glasses off. John’s gorgeous blue eyes sparkled until he closed them to lean in for another kiss. Dave opened his mouth, hoping to take things a little further. John obligingly took Dave's lower lip into his mouth and sucked. It was a small thing all together, but that was what did it. Dave reflexively rolled his hips forward, pressing his half-hard cock against John's thigh.

But then John pulled away, startled. “Dave!”

“What?”

“I’m seventeen, you egg!”

Dave frowned and scooted back. “That mean you want me to stop?”

John smiled mischievously. “No, it means I’ve secretly been working for dateline the entire time. Chris Hansen will be in any minute. Why don’t you have a seat over there?”

“Pfft, yeah right. A: if NBC based that entire series on grooming twelve year olds to like their slightly younger friends and then putting them in the same room just after the first kid was legal it would probably be entrapment and definitely be hella fucked up. B: Age of consent in Washington is sixteen.”

John smirked. “Did you look that up just for me? To see whether you had to wait until April?”

“...Maybe.”

“Pfft, you’re a huge dork.” John kissed him again, soft and sweet. "For real, though, we’re not messing around while my dad’s home.”

"Fair enough,” Dave said. “I was planning to leave clothes on anyway.”

“All of them?”

“Huh?”  

"I was thinking,” John nibbled his lower lip. Oooh, even if John told him no for now he was looking forward to being able to try that later. “Would you... would you be willing to take your sweatshirt off?”

“Shit, dude, who’s the horny one now?” Dave asked to buy himself some time.

“Not for sex. I know about your arms, and I’ve seen the low res webcam shots, but... I don’t know why, but I want to see it in real life.”

Dave contemplated it for a moment before giving in. "Okay. But it goes on the second your dad calls us."

"Got it.”

He sat up and unzipped his sweatshirt. That wasn't the problem, though. The real issue was pulling his arms out of the sleeves. As he did, John got his first good look at the dozens of scars on his arms. There were the ones on top from the strifes and ones on the bottom he gave himself when the normal beatings weren't enough. Some of the cuts were still in various stages of healing, some scabs peeling off and others an angry red. Others were old, bright permanent lines across his dark skin.

"Shit, Dave... can I-?"

Dave offered him one arm. "Sure." He trusted John enough to fly to a strange city with only the shit he could carry, but he couldn’t help but reflexively tense at showing this level of vulnerability.

John took Dave's hand and then slowly, methodically began kissing up Dave's arm, lips brushing every scar. Every touch was sweet and tender, when Dave was so used to the feeling of sharp metal. With every inch and every kiss more and more tension drained from Dave’s body. The tears were back and this time John didn’t do anything to stop them. He just looked up and smiled into the kisses.

Dave felt small. He felt weak. Normally that would send him into a panic, running for cover and grabbing the nearest blade to defend himself with. But now that John was here, he was safe. He was crying and getting kisses instead of cuts and it was all so strange and new, but it felt so _right._

 _“Is this what normal people feel like?”_ He thought to himself.

John didn’t stop when he reached his sleeve. Instead he kept leaving little kisses along the fabric, then up Dave’s neck until he was finally back at his lips. Dave buried is fingers in John’s short, smooth hair and pulled him as close as possible. But it still wasn’t enough. He needed more.

He flopped back down, taking his boyfriend with him. John landed right on top of him with a yelp, warm and solid and heavy. The extra weight made it a little difficult to breathe, but it was worth it. Dave wrapped his arms and legs around John, holding him even closer. Every additional square inch of contact made him feel safer, more loved.

“Shit,” John,” Dave said. “You have no idea how bad I needed this.”

“Oh, Dave,” John murmured, pulling back just far enough to press his forehead against Dave’s. “I think I might be starting to get an idea. But, uh, can we roll over? I’d rather not have my dad come to check up on us and find us like this.”

“What even fully dressed?” Dave still rolled over obligingly so that they were lying side by side.

“I know,” John said, gently caressing the side of Dave’s face. “But still...”

“I’m just teasing you, you dork.”

“I know. Besides, you’d rather we flip, right?”

“Dave!” The color started rising in his cheeks.

“Bro, like every time we’ve messed around you’ve talked about or implied that you want me to top the fuck out of you. You don’t have to be embarrassed now.” His hand started creeping low. Not to do anything actually sexual, but just to let his thumb rub little circles over John’s hipbone. “And I know not now, but I just wanna say I’d be down for it, like _super_ down. Although now that I’m here I’m thinking I’d kind of like to use your thighs for earmuffs.”

“Daaave!” John whined again.

“What? It’s cold as fuck down there. And I have no real winter shit.”

“You’re gonna kill me, dude. Unless my dad hears you talking and kills you first.”

Dave smiled. “John, I don’t know if you noticed, but I am _real_ good at shutting up when authority figures come by.”

“I know.” John closed his eyes and pressed their foreheads together again. “Hey Dave?”

“Yeah?”

“Happy late birthday slash early Christmas.”

“Thanks, baby.”

The two of them lay together contentedly, mostly in silence. By the time Mr. Egbert came to get them, Dave had drifted off into the least troubled sleep he’d had in a long, long time.


End file.
